National Saturday Club students enjoy exclusive masterclass with Kickers
Young artists and designers who attend The Northern School of Art’s hugely popular National Saturday Club sessions recently spent their Saturday morning designing their own bespoke pair of Kickers.
The activity was part of an exclusive Masterclass with pioneering sports and lifestyle brand business Pentland Brands. The UK footwear and apparel licensee for Kickers, Pentland is also the name behind some of the world’s best sports, outdoor and lifestyle brands including Speedo, Berghaus, Canterbury of New Zealand, Endura, ellesse, Red or Dead, KangaROOS and Mitre.
Aimed at showcasing how skills developed at the National Saturday Club‘s free weekly classes for 13 to 16-year-olds can be applied in the real world, the School’s Masterclass was part of a series of bespoke events organised by National Saturday Club to give Club members and tutors rare access to some of the UK’s most creative minds.
As part of the session members of the School’s Middlesbrough campus National Saturday Art&Design Club designed their own bespoke pair of Kickers, embracing the Kickers brand message ‘express yourself’.
The day started with an introductory talk by Kickers’ Brand Manager, who shared insights into the footwear industry and the brand’s ethos. They then gave an exciting overview of the activity ahead.
With the mission of showing young people how customisation can reflect their personalities, Club members were given a pair of Kickers and complete creative freedom in how they chose to customise them.
With self-expression at the forefront, they were briefed to go as wild or as subtle as they liked and encouraged by the Pentland Brands and Kickers team to explore and push their creativity and customisation skills. Designs varied from music symbols to star signs and were filled with personality.
A key part of the Masterclass was the Club members presenting their designs to the group and explaining what they had created and how it represents them. They then all voted for their favourite designs and the top seven were awarded a pair of Kickers to take home.
The event was a huge success with the students, who gave resoundingly enthusiastic feedback including: “Loved it and want to do it again”, “Thank you for giving us an incredible opportunity”, “Thank you so much for the experience” and “You were awesome!”.
Here’s a gallery of more photos from the session.
National Saturday Club sessions are offered weekly for 13 to 16-year-old students from 10am to 1 pm at The Northern School of Art’s Middlesbrough campus on Newport Road. The aim is to nurture young talent, build confidence, develop creative skills and independence through a range of creative activities.
There are two pathways available for students, Art & Design and Film & Media – and students are able to participate in multiple projects, yearly masterclasses with industry professionals, like the recent Kickers event, and participate in the annual National Saturday Club Summer Show at Somerset House in London.
Session are free but students must be nominated through their school by their teacher or can apply through saturday-club.org Find out more HERE
